What Is A Virtual Assistant Anyway?

Have you been hearing the job title Virtual Assistant online a lot lately?

Probably because it’s a pretty hot home career right now, anyone who is anyone uses a Virtual Assistant or (VA). Wondering what these VA’s actually do? Here are some answers!

I started my own home business as a Virtual Assistant a little over a year ago, I made the decision to become a VA after 5 years of struggling to find success in pretty much every home business out there. I needed to make money, I needed to have a “real job” I needed to stop wasting my time trying to sell every kind of fitness drink, mascara, vitamins, face cream, body wrap, online program or kitchen utensil on the market, stop trying to make money by posting ads, marketing for scammy companies, starting all these “home businesses” that made you pay a ton of money to get started only to not do what it promises to do and you find yourself in deep doo-doo. None of that was working for me, I had to do something else, and after going back to school to receive what ended up being a completely useless degree and wasted even more time and money I couldn’t afford to waste, I decided to go back to the drawing board and start over.

I had seen the term Virtual Assistant around the internet for a while, with all of my home business researching and making contacts with women running successful home businesses I decided to figure out what a VA was and if it was something I could do. Lo and behold I had found something that perfectly fit me, my skills, lifestyle and what I wanted to do career-wise. After a few months of training with a virtual assistant company, a few program courses and a spring in my step, I made the leap forward into creating my own business as a VA. I started with a website and a facebook page and things have been slowly taking off since then. Things are slow going but I have hope that I will reach my goals someday. Slow and steady wins the race! Anyway, so now to the main point of my little post…what is a virtual assistant anyway?

“A virtual assistant is someone who helps businesses or busy people remotely, from their home or office with administrative assistance. Seems pretty straight forward, doesn’t it? Virtual assistants are highly skilled professionals who leverage their talents and their time to help others check off their to-do lists.” -breagettingfit.com

Image via Pinterest

A VA is (usually) a contract based professional who works from their home office to provide a wide range of services for businesses and individuals. Some VA’s only in specialize in specific areas such as websites, consulting, graphic design, or social media engagement. Other VA’s are  jack of all trade workers and do a little bit of everything depending on their skill level. So whatever your business needs, there’s a VA out there that does it and is available to help you and get those tasks checked off your to-do list. Now isn’t that just splendid? 😀

Image via Pinterest

I mainly specialize in social media management, but I also do blogs and newsletters for small businesses and I love what I do. You can follow my businesses Facebook page (linked below) for all the updates on my little biz as well as how to get in touch with me if you’re interested in hiring me. Most VA’s also vary in their prices, skill level and business approach. No two VA’s are ever the same. They can also be found in many different places, just type in ‘Virtual Assistant’ in any social media platform, Google or job site and you’re bound to find that the internet is bursting with us. We are ready and waiting to serve you!

Working as a VA is a wonderful career because it allows my schedule to be flexible so I can homeschool my son, have plenty of time to keep up on household chores and the latest episodes of my favorite shows. I also can meet all kinds of amazing people and get the joy of helping them with things they need. I get to use my creativity and all the skills I’ve gained from those sad 5 years of struggle. It is a title I am proud of and I can’t wait to see how my business continues to grow.  Check out my new business website! www.myvirtualassistance4you.com If you have any more questions about what a VA does or how to become one or hire one, just shoot me a message! Follow my blog for more home business, stay at home mom and entrepreneur posts!

Much love and many thanks!
-Jess XO
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